stone and steel

Essentially I tried to avoid the usual tropes of Dwarves.

Somewhere in the dense forests of sezia, there lies, camouflaged and guarded, the last true home of the dwarves, a humanoid species nearly driven to extinction by constant war, foreign and civil. This last place of power is home to the only true clan left, the rykthos. These warriors survived in place of their warmongering brethren by abandoning the tactics of old, charge this en masse, more warriors means better chance of winning, kill their army before they kill yours, and so on. Yet this clan saw the errors in this ancient way of war, instead they committed what many dwarves considered taboo, they learned the arcane arts, namely scrying and forms of invisibility, they placed an emphasis on individual skill and adaptability when training instead of skill at arms and obedience, these dwarves stepped out of the gleam of battle, and faded into the shadows. Now they exist as mercenaries, using their diminutive stature and disproportionate strength to become peerless spies and assassins, they do not hold the stone fortresses of their predecessors, nor garb themselves in the hulking and ornate armor they wore, they are not boisterous and merry in company as their nearly extinct cousins, but reserved and straightforward. When they meet a member of a different family, the result is nearly always bloodshed, a clash between the swordsmanship and strength of the past, and the daggers and tactics of the future.

Yes I know it's terrible, but I'm happy with the armor designs and attempts at individual characters.